Marlins trade Luis Arraez to Padres in 5-player deal

[Ely Sussman]

Minutes before first pitch of Friday's game, the Marlins agreed to ship the reigning NL batting champ to San Diego.

The latest Miami Marlins rebuild is now officially underway. All-Star Luis Arraez was traded to the San Diego Padres on Saturday morning for OF Dillon Head, RHP Woo-Suk Go, OF Jakob Marsee and 1B Nathan Martorella. The Marlins also included nearly $8M in the deal, leaving the Padres responsible for only a pro-rated portion of the major league minimum salary for the rest of the season.

Arraez concludes his Marlins tenure with a .343/.384/.450 slash line (127 wRC+). The 2023 National League All-Star and batting champion contributed 3.5 fWAR in 180 games played.

A full-time second baseman in Miami, Arraez figures to get most of his reps for the Padres in the DH spot (that's where they utilized him on Saturday night in his Padres debut).

 

 

 

 

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Arraez was initially in Friday's Marlins lineup, occupying his usual leadoff spot. He was scratched shortly before the game began and watched the first several innings from the dugout, hugging his soon-to-be former teammates.

Following the 2023 season, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball ranked Head (sixth), Marsee (10th) and Martorella (13th) among the top prospects in San Diego's farm system. None of the trio require 40-man roster spots yet.

The 19-year-old Head has been playing center field regularly at Low-A, posting an 85 wRC+ in 21 games this season.

Marsee, 23, is also a center fielder. He has a 96 wRC+ with 12 stolen bases already in 22 games at Double-A.

Martorella has been very productive at the plate so far in 2024, entering Friday with a 132 wRC+ in 23 Double-A contests. He's also 23 years old.

Go, a 25-year-old reliever from South Korea with no MLB experience yet, is under contract through 2025 with a $3M mutual option for 2026. He had been assigned to the Padres' Double-A affiliate (4.38 ERA and 2.15 FIP in 12.1 IP) and will slide into Arraez's 40-man spot. 

Rosenthal and The Athletic's Dennis Lin had previously reported that the Marlins and Padres engaged in Arraez trade talks prior to Opening Day. It's unclear if any of the prospects in the final deal were also part of the "strong offer" that was on the table during spring training. 

Arraez wanted to sign a long-term extension with the Marlins. He was direct about that. However, there's no evidence that the club had a genuine willingness to pay what it would require to come to terms with the 27-year-old infielder.

Even including a recent three-game winning streak, the Marlins have had an awful 9-24 start to the season that made it clear they wouldn't be competing for another playoff berth. As one of the Marlins' most expensive players ($10.6M salary in 2024) and someone who was rapidly approaching free agency after the 2025 season, Arraez was an obvious trade chip. In his public comments on Saturday, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix was adamant that there was no urgency to part with him. Rather, the timing came down to being offered a prospect package that was "too good of a deal to pass up."

There is now a void at second base—Arraez had started each of Miami's first 33 games at the position. Otto Lopez filled his shoes on Friday. Once Jake Burger returns from the injured list in the coming days and begins serving as the primary Marlins third baseman again, expect Vidal Bruján to play second frequently.

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[Gabriel Revilla]

So if everything is finalized what would you rate this trade? I only ask, because if this FO is going to make these kinds of trades, they gotta be spot on.

[Slacker Mills]

Would have much preferred something like Arraez and Tanner Scott for Orelvis Martinez from Blue Jays.

[Ely Sussman]

6 hours ago, GabeRevi said:

So if everything is finalized what would you rate this trade? I only ask, because if this FO is going to make these kinds of trades, they gotta be spot on.

I would say it's a C+. Okay.

You can feel confident that there will be some major league production coming from this package no matter what. It's just the upside is limited because of Dillon Head's non-existent power and Nathan Martorella being limited to 1B/DH moving forward.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

Look forward to hearing your full evaluation of the new Marlins. These deals take years to discern, but for most fans like me, the initial lowdown must come from a reliable, reasonable source. I see Padre fans asserting that it was a steal of Arraez already. All in all, it was strictly timing and venue issues for an Arraez trade. 

[Gabriel Revilla]

my issue with these rebuilds that miami is notorious for is… trade a player get a package of mediocre players or quadruple A players. i figured that when they traded Arraez it would be a situation like this because of the fact that he’s okay at 2b he has 1 year left of control and he’s not a power hitter, he’s not giving you a ton of RBIs maybe he’ll give you runs if you put him in a good line up. But overall to pay a player what he is worth when all he’s giving you is the bat. i can see why they did it. i was just hoping maybe they would get something pretty good in return. 

Something else of concern that i know fans have been talking about. Since Peter Bendix has been hired, everyone is talking about how he’s going to do this the “Rays way”. That’s actually pretty scary and i’m hoping it’s less of a rays way and more of an Astros way or something like that. i Say all this because the Rays have been an incredible team to watch in the AL east. They have been contenders many times in a division of powerhouse organizations like the yankees and Redsox but given their great track record… they still have no fans they still can’t generate a strong following. Sure you can say it’s something to do with the stadium but i don’t think so. The Rays function in such a cheap way. They find players develop them which is great and then they go trade them off. So that fan base really doesn’t have those long term players because the second they become valuable they get sold off for prospects or whatever. I think if you talk to any Miami fan, they want a winning culture that  builds around good players that are going to be around for a long time. “The Rays way” only works if you are going to the playoffs which is great but they still got no fans coming to games. You see what i mean? I hear everyone talking about seeing more fans coming to games and i want that too, but is the “The Rays way” how you do it? I don’t think so because they can’t even get fans to come to games. When i look at teams like them verses the Braves and Astros I see great development, great scouting, great players signed and committed to long term deals. This has created a greater fan base for the teams generated more revenue and it’s going to do so for many years down the road. i’m only using the astros as an example. I am aware that they are not doing too good. but looking at their track record they are an impressive organization. 

 

Sorry for my book…. i’ve just been quiet for a long time. 

[Slacker Mills]

One honest to god guy that's ready for the majors and has four or five tool upside would have worked for me. As it stands, piss poor for the Fish.

[One Regend]

I was expecting a trade like this to happen near the deadline, so I was expecting to come back around the deadline to discuss the direction the Marlins are going. It appears the Marlins gave up before the month of May really started. And really, I don't blame them. Eury Perez was the only reason worth watching this team, and he's gone until next year at best.

I have three words for you all.

Embrace. The. Tank.

We've been staring directly at the possibility of a rebuild (of a rebuild, at that) for at least 3 years now. 2021 was concerning, and 2022 was a clear red flag. What 2023 did was give us false hope that this team was greater than it really was. I saw right through the ruse. The 2023 team wasn't good. They only benefitted from expanded playoff brackets, an NL Central collapse, and the Mets metting. There was no clear improvement on the team outside of the bullpen's highly unsustainable performance, and Arraez, Bell, and Burger hitting way over their heads. Our offense still stunk, our defense was still an unmitigated disaster scene, and our best starting pitchers were an 88 mph meatball dispenser (Brax), a guy who can't perform when the stakes are high (Luzardo), and a guy who was clearly on an innings limit. (Perez)

I knew the other foot was about to drop at some point, and it dropped now. Not replacing Soler and not reinforcing the rotation only magnified the problem. Now I can't 100% judge this trade because these type of trades are usually best evaluated in about 3 years, but they have the right idea in trading Luis Arraez. What they traded him for, again, is something I'll judge later. I'm concerned about the fact that Bendix couldn't net a top 100 prospect in return, instead taking the quantity over quality approach, but again, I'll have to see more from him before I judge his transactions. Besides, I knew Luis Arraez's ceiling isn't that high (he's known more for his floor), and that his defense isn't particularly great, so I wasn't expecting great yields from him in the first place.

What I want to see is for the Marlins to dedicate themselves to the cause. If they're going to embrace the tank, I want them to commit to it all the way through. I want to see Jesus Luzardo gone. I want to see Tanner Scott gone. Eat the money for Josh Bell, Tim Anderson, and Avisail Garcia and let the kids play (paging: Troy Johnston, Will Banfield, Dane Myers, Xavier Edwards when healthy), to see what they're made of.

And, this may suck for the fans, but they have to trade Jazz Chisholm Jr, if not at the deadline, then during the offseason. He's a good player and a fan favorite. But this team is not going to be good for the 3 years he's still going to be around. If Trevor Rogers can find his groove, he may definitely be a viable piece to dangle at the trade deadline for the same reasons as Jazz Chisholm would be: We've got 3 years of control for him, but the Marlins won't be good in those 3 years.

What I want the Marlins to do is, if they're going to rebuild (which all signs are pointing to), they should strip the entire team down and do the rebuild right. No half-measures. And especially go with the best player available in their drafts, instead of reaching for off-the-beaten-path prospects that nobody picks in the first round; let alone top 10 picks. And they especially should evaluate their trades better. The Yelich/Realmuto/Stanton trades doomed this core from the start and is a big factor of the reason why they failed as much as they have during these 6 years.

It's time for us to relive 2018 and 2019 again. It sucks, but it needed to be done. It's either this, or sit around spinning the wheels of mediocrity.

[Russell]

8 hours ago, One Regend said:

I was expecting a trade like this to happen near the deadline, so I was expecting to come back around the deadline to discuss the direction the Marlins are going. It appears the Marlins gave up before the month of May really started. And really, I don't blame them. Eury Perez was the only reason worth watching this team, and he's gone until next year at best.

I have three words for you all.

Embrace. The. Tank.

We've been staring directly at the possibility of a rebuild (of a rebuild, at that) for at least 3 years now. 2021 was concerning, and 2022 was a clear red flag. What 2023 did was give us false hope that this team was greater than it really was. I saw right through the ruse. The 2023 team wasn't good. They only benefitted from expanded playoff brackets, an NL Central collapse, and the Mets metting. There was no clear improvement on the team outside of the bullpen's highly unsustainable performance, and Arraez, Bell, and Burger hitting way over their heads. Our offense still stunk, our defense was still an unmitigated disaster scene, and our best starting pitchers were an 88 mph meatball dispenser (Brax), a guy who can't perform when the stakes are high (Luzardo), and a guy who was clearly on an innings limit. (Perez)

I knew the other foot was about to drop at some point, and it dropped now. Not replacing Soler and not reinforcing the rotation only magnified the problem. Now I can't 100% judge this trade because these type of trades are usually best evaluated in about 3 years, but they have the right idea in trading Luis Arraez. What they traded him for, again, is something I'll judge later. I'm concerned about the fact that Bendix couldn't net a top 100 prospect in return, instead taking the quantity over quality approach, but again, I'll have to see more from him before I judge his transactions. Besides, I knew Luis Arraez's ceiling isn't that high (he's known more for his floor), and that his defense isn't particularly great, so I wasn't expecting great yields from him in the first place.

What I want to see is for the Marlins to dedicate themselves to the cause. If they're going to embrace the tank, I want them to commit to it all the way through. I want to see Jesus Luzardo gone. I want to see Tanner Scott gone. Eat the money for Josh Bell, Tim Anderson, and Avisail Garcia and let the kids play (paging: Troy Johnston, Will Banfield, Dane Myers, Xavier Edwards when healthy), to see what they're made of.

And, this may suck for the fans, but they have to trade Jazz Chisholm Jr, if not at the deadline, then during the offseason. He's a good player and a fan favorite. But this team is not going to be good for the 3 years he's still going to be around. If Trevor Rogers can find his groove, he may definitely be a viable piece to dangle at the trade deadline for the same reasons as Jazz Chisholm would be: We've got 3 years of control for him, but the Marlins won't be good in those 3 years.

What I want the Marlins to do is, if they're going to rebuild (which all signs are pointing to), they should strip the entire team down and do the rebuild right. No half-measures. And especially go with the best player available in their drafts, instead of reaching for off-the-beaten-path prospects that nobody picks in the first round; let alone top 10 picks. And they especially should evaluate their trades better. The Yelich/Realmuto/Stanton trades doomed this core from the start and is a big factor of the reason why they failed as much as they have during these 6 years.

It's time for us to relive 2018 and 2019 again. It sucks, but it needed to be done. It's either this, or sit around spinning the wheels of mediocrity.

Please the imbeciles in the prior regime which still included Mike Hill traded Luis Castillo twice and Josh Naylor for a bucket of balls, drafted Tyler Kolek instead of Rodon.  And that’s how you build a franchise of perpetual ineptitude 

[One Regend]

1 hour ago, Russell said:

Please the imbeciles in the prior regime which still included Mike Hill traded Luis Castillo twice and Josh Naylor for a bucket of balls, drafted Tyler Kolek instead of Rodon.  And that’s how you build a franchise of perpetual ineptitude 

This regime didn't fare any better. They drafted Connor Scott, JJ Bleday, Khalil Watson, and Jacob Berry. And all of them flamed out instantly. And all illustrate the same problem: their inability to draft and develop position players.

I think it's too early to judge Bendix for his rebuilding moves, which is why I'm reserving judgment, but trading Arraez needed to happen. He wasn't going to magically make this disaster of a team any better by himself, and the team needs to rebuild its farm system. I'm not exactly flattered by the moves Bendix has made so far prospect-wise, which has me concerned, But I need to see more before I start calling for front office heads to be fired into the sun. The Jeter-Denbo-Svihlik triumverate showed me more than enough to call for their firings 3 years ago. Now begins the era of Bendix-Kanthan. Only thing to do is hope they're actually effective at their job. That's all we can do, really. I'd give them a 3 year grace period, 2 at the bare minimum.

[FishFan93]

48 minutes ago, One Regend said:

This regime didn't fare any better. They drafted Connor Scott, JJ Bleday, Khalil Watson, and Jacob Berry. And all of them flamed out instantly. And all illustrate the same problem: their inability to draft and develop position players.

I think it's too early to judge Bendix for his rebuilding moves, which is why I'm reserving judgment, but trading Arraez needed to happen. He wasn't going to magically make this disaster of a team any better by himself, and the team needs to rebuild its farm system. I'm not exactly flattered by the moves Bendix has made so far prospect-wise, which has me concerned, But I need to see more before I start calling for front office heads to be fired into the sun. The Jeter-Denbo-Svihlik triumverate showed me more than enough to call for their firings 3 years ago. Now begins the era of Bendix-Kanthan. Only thing to do is hope they're actually effective at their job. That's all we can do, really. I'd give them a 3 year grace period, 2 at the bare minimum.

It is truly maddening that it is the same show for our fans each time. Marlins fans are probably the most diehard in the MLB just due to the amount of misfortune we endure each season. We get three years and new prospects, then what happens? We sell them off cause we aren't going to pay them. 

 

I get Bendix is in his first year. I can't pass judgment on him, but I can pass judgment on Sherman. He is an ineffective owner who does not have the ability to compete in a league with no caps. What happens next when Bendix leaves or gets fired in X years (probably 4 years)? Are we back to 24, 2018/19, 04, 98 again? What is the incentive for fans to watch?

It is crazy how one county over in a league that should have no pull in Florida, an ice hockey team that has been there as long as the Marlins, finally has a fanbase and contender status thanks to good ownership. Heck, there is an MLS team that has more pull than the Marlins right now due to ownership (MLB made a major mistake not letting them buy the team) making the moves to bring superstars in for fans to come.

It is maddening that South Florida, an area with a long history of baseball, has ownership that doesn't want to invest in the sport. 

 

I am glad the Marlins are forced to stay in Miami until 2040, but are we seriously just waiting for the clock to hit the lease expiration date so ownership can pawn off the team to another city? I'll support them no matter what (until the inevitable move, of course), but MLB isn't fun to us like other fans. Fans are supposed to have fun watching their team and support them through good times and bad times. Yes, we had two World Series; at least we are doing better than the Rockies! Why is it that when folks say that they are Marlins fans, the first reaction from rival teams isn't "Oh man, we hate your team" or "You got X, and he's pretty good," but "I'm so sorry you are a Marlins fan" in actual empathy and not sarcasm! How long until the general fanbase goes, "You know, I'd rather watch X team because at least they win/contend/do something/have some history." I feel we have already hit that point, and the remaining folks that go to the game are just us who remember what happened those magical two years.

Edited May 5, 2024 by FishFan93
Added some more wordage, fixed some grammar.

[Ely Sussman]

10 hours ago, FishFan93 said:

It is truly maddening that it is the same show for our fans each time. Marlins fans are probably the most diehard in the MLB just due to the amount of misfortune we endure each season. We get three years and new prospects, then what happens? We sell them off cause we aren't going to pay them. 

I get Bendix is in his first year. I can't pass judgment on him, but I can pass judgment on Sherman. He is an ineffective owner who does not have the ability to compete in a league with no caps. What happens next when Bendix leaves or gets fired in X years (probably 4 years)? Are we back to 24, 2018/19, 04, 98 again? What is the incentive for fans to watch?

It is crazy how one county over in a league that should have no pull in Florida, an ice hockey team that has been there as long as the Marlins, finally has a fanbase and contender status thanks to good ownership. Heck, there is an MLS team that has more pull than the Marlins right now due to ownership (MLB made a major mistake not letting them buy the team) making the moves to bring superstars in for fans to come.

It is maddening that South Florida, an area with a long history of baseball, has ownership that doesn't want to invest in the sport. 

 

I am glad the Marlins are forced to stay in Miami until 2040, but are we seriously just waiting for the clock to hit the lease expiration date so ownership can pawn off the team to another city? I'll support them no matter what (until the inevitable move, of course), but MLB isn't fun to us like other fans. Fans are supposed to have fun watching their team and support them through good times and bad times. Yes, we had two World Series; at least we are doing better than the Rockies! Why is it that when folks say that they are Marlins fans, the first reaction from rival teams isn't "Oh man, we hate your team" or "You got X, and he's pretty good," but "I'm so sorry you are a Marlins fan" in actual empathy and not sarcasm! How long until the general fanbase goes, "You know, I'd rather watch X team because at least they win/contend/do something/have some history." I feel we have already hit that point, and the remaining folks that go to the game are just us who remember what happened those magical two years.

Sherman is dooming the team with his complacency. He is, from everything I've seen, a nice man who enjoys baseball, but he's comfortable collecting revenue-sharing checks and doesn't have the ambition to make this franchise greater than it was when he arrived.

Especially in the aftermath of these trades, I get complaints from fans who want Sherman's feet held to the fire by the media, as if that would fix this. No, unfortunately that will not change his priorities.

[Ely Sussman]

21 hours ago, One Regend said:

I was expecting a trade like this to happen near the deadline, so I was expecting to come back around the deadline to discuss the direction the Marlins are going. It appears the Marlins gave up before the month of May really started. And really, I don't blame them. Eury Perez was the only reason worth watching this team, and he's gone until next year at best.

I have three words for you all.

Embrace. The. Tank.

We've been staring directly at the possibility of a rebuild (of a rebuild, at that) for at least 3 years now. 2021 was concerning, and 2022 was a clear red flag. What 2023 did was give us false hope that this team was greater than it really was. I saw right through the ruse. The 2023 team wasn't good. They only benefitted from expanded playoff brackets, an NL Central collapse, and the Mets metting. There was no clear improvement on the team outside of the bullpen's highly unsustainable performance, and Arraez, Bell, and Burger hitting way over their heads. Our offense still stunk, our defense was still an unmitigated disaster scene, and our best starting pitchers were an 88 mph meatball dispenser (Brax), a guy who can't perform when the stakes are high (Luzardo), and a guy who was clearly on an innings limit. (Perez)

I knew the other foot was about to drop at some point, and it dropped now. Not replacing Soler and not reinforcing the rotation only magnified the problem. Now I can't 100% judge this trade because these type of trades are usually best evaluated in about 3 years, but they have the right idea in trading Luis Arraez. What they traded him for, again, is something I'll judge later. I'm concerned about the fact that Bendix couldn't net a top 100 prospect in return, instead taking the quantity over quality approach, but again, I'll have to see more from him before I judge his transactions. Besides, I knew Luis Arraez's ceiling isn't that high (he's known more for his floor), and that his defense isn't particularly great, so I wasn't expecting great yields from him in the first place.

What I want to see is for the Marlins to dedicate themselves to the cause. If they're going to embrace the tank, I want them to commit to it all the way through. I want to see Jesus Luzardo gone. I want to see Tanner Scott gone. Eat the money for Josh Bell, Tim Anderson, and Avisail Garcia and let the kids play (paging: Troy Johnston, Will Banfield, Dane Myers, Xavier Edwards when healthy), to see what they're made of.

And, this may suck for the fans, but they have to trade Jazz Chisholm Jr, if not at the deadline, then during the offseason. He's a good player and a fan favorite. But this team is not going to be good for the 3 years he's still going to be around. If Trevor Rogers can find his groove, he may definitely be a viable piece to dangle at the trade deadline for the same reasons as Jazz Chisholm would be: We've got 3 years of control for him, but the Marlins won't be good in those 3 years.

What I want the Marlins to do is, if they're going to rebuild (which all signs are pointing to), they should strip the entire team down and do the rebuild right. No half-measures. And especially go with the best player available in their drafts, instead of reaching for off-the-beaten-path prospects that nobody picks in the first round; let alone top 10 picks. And they especially should evaluate their trades better. The Yelich/Realmuto/Stanton trades doomed this core from the start and is a big factor of the reason why they failed as much as they have during these 6 years.

It's time for us to relive 2018 and 2019 again. It sucks, but it needed to be done. It's either this, or sit around spinning the wheels of mediocrity.

That is a perfectly defensible stance.

I would hate to see it as somebody who believes these teams should have a moral obligation to put forth a mildly entertaining product even in seasons when competitiveness is unrealistic. But yes, in the pursuit of eventually arriving at a place where the Marlins are consistently good, you optimize your chances of that by acquiring as much young, inexpensive talent as possible, beginning now.

[One Regend]

7 hours ago, Ely Sussman said:

That is a perfectly defensible stance.

I would hate to see it as somebody who believes these teams should have a moral obligation to put forth a mildly entertaining product even in seasons when competitiveness is unrealistic. But yes, in the pursuit of eventually arriving at a place where the Marlins are consistently good, you optimize your chances of that by acquiring as much young, inexpensive talent as possible, beginning now.

I think, by far and away, what makes this team so frustrating to watch is sitting through 2018 and 2019 watching awful baseball for all 324 games, only to come out of those awful seasons with this reality.

We tanked 2018 and 2019, and this was the best we could do?